Observed Signal · Aug 18, 2025 · Product Launch · Source: OnlineMarketing.de · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Perplexity Debuts Comet Browser for Enterprises
Perplexity is expanding its AI-powered Comet browser into an enterprise product by enabling access to local files and programs through locally hosted MCPs (Model Context Protocols). This update aims to bridge Web, apps, and local data, differentiating Comet from rivals such as Google Chrome with AI Mode, Microsoft Edge Copilot, Arc, and Brave Leo, with OpenAI reportedly developing a competing browser. Enterprise pricing includes a Pro plan at $40/month or $400/year and a Max plan at $200/month for Early Access with expanded capabilities. beta demonstrations via TestingCatalog reveal local MCPs enabling direct interaction with local files and applications, including inserting a locally stored image into social posts. Perplexity also notes Comet being preinstalled on some Telekom and Motorola devices. The move situates Comet within the broader browser competition and AI-assisted workflow automation landscape.
New enterprise-focused browser launch with AI-enabled advertising model; moderate industry impact
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Perplexity updates Comet to access local files and programs via local MCPs (Model Context Protocols).
- Local MCPs enable on-device interaction with files and apps; previously Comet only supported remote MCPs.
- Enterprise-Pro plan is $40 per month or $400 per year; Max plan is $200 per month with Early Access.
- TestingCatalog in beta shows local MCPs with screenshots illustrating on-device file access.
- Comet is reportedly preinstalled on some Telekom and Motorola devices.
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Related Market Signals & Shifts
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Perplexity Comet Now Multitasks Across Tabs
Perplexity has upgraded its Comet Assistant to perform tasks in parallel across multiple websites, eliminating the need to constantly switch between tabs. The Comet Browser integration now functions as a standalone AI agent capable of handling concurrent web analyses, linking results contextually from various sources. In internal tests, the new version delivered roughly a 23% speed improvement over the prior release, enabling more complex workflows such as end-to-end travel research where a single command prompts price comparisons across several sites. The update extends the underlying architecture to better understand and interact with live web environments, allowing parallel data extraction and synthesis, rather than sequential lookups. This enhancement positions Perplexity as a more capable browser assistant, reducing manual browsing chores and enabling richer, multi-source task execution in real time.
Perplexity's Comet adds voice-controlled mode
Perplexity’s AI-first browser Comet now includes a Voice Mode that enables complete hands-free navigation, chat, and information retrieval using voice commands. The update is rolled out to all users and is powered by OpenAI’s gpt-realtime-1.5 model, which Perplexity says improves call stability by over 25% and enhances expressive speech understanding. OpenAI reported performance gains for the model, including a +5% intelligence lift on Big Bench Audio, +10.23% transcription accuracy, and +7% instruction-following in internal evaluations. Perplexity notes that its AI Answering Machine remains ad-free, aligning with Claude and differing from ChatGPT in that respect. An iOS version of Comet with the Voice Mode upgrade is expected to arrive soon. The piece places this development in the broader context of AI browser innovations from Google and Microsoft, and other AI-powered browser features.
Fired OpenAI Researchers Dispute Misconduct Claims, Warn of Chilling Effect
Three OpenAI safety researchers, Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni, who were fired last week, have published an open letter denying allegations of mishandling sensitive information. They warn that their dismissal creates a chilling effect that stifles AI safety work and open dialogue within the company. The researchers say they acted in good faith and within company norms, and that the reasons for their firing are unclear. They urge OpenAI to uphold its commitments to third-party safety auditors and maintain a transparent culture. OpenAI responded with an internal memo denying retaliation and stating that employees are not terminated for raising concerns, but did not address specific policy violations or circumstances of the dismissal. The dispute highlights tensions between internal safety research and company communication policies at a time when OpenAI faces scrutiny over safety incidents.
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